Why Does Sasuke Want to Destroy the Hidden Leaf in Naruto Shippuden?

The whole conflict in the Naruto series stems from a few individuals’ grief, greed, and selfishness. Throughout the series, we are taught that living with love and kindness will be extremely hard but eventually will set us free. That didn’t reach Sasuke, who, from his youth, was only suffering from other people’s actions. The grief and hate distanced him from his friends and made him depart Konohagakure, which he decided to destroy during the Naruto Shippuden run. Why? Let’s find out.

Uchiha Sasuke decided he would destroy Konohagakure after his fight with Uchiha Itachi. Specifically, during the Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled manga story arc, when Sasuke dispatches his Team Hebi – he renames Team Taka and establishes a new mission to destroy Konohagakure. Sasuke wants to destroy Konoha after Tobi tells him the skewed truth about his brother Itachi, who was used by the village’s leaders for their own gain. 

We will discuss this topic more by mentioning why Sasuke wants to destroy his village, and what his brother Itachi has to do with it and conclude this article. If you are interested, stay with us until the end.

Sasuke’s life before the fight with Itachi

The Uchiha clan is one of the founding fathers of the Hidden Village in Leaves, along with another notable clan, Senju. Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama signed the peace treaty and founded Konohagakure with the aspiration to hold on to the peace of the Shinobi World. Of course, that did not last long, and the Uchiha clan quickly found themselves isolated from the rest of the Konohagakure.

Of course, Madara decided to go rogue and unleash the Nine-Tailed Beast on the village to destroy it but was stopped by Hashirama. This conflict continued for decades and decades in the future, which brings us to the end of the Third Shinobi World War. Young Itachi is horrified by what he witnessed in Third Shinobi World War and vows to become the strongest shinobi possible to stop the violence and destruction of the world.

Of course, that propelled Itachi to train hard, but the birth of his younger brother Sasuke strengthened his resolve. Sasuke was a happy child that looked up to his brother until one night when everything changed for Sasuke. His brother massacred his family and the whole Uchiha clan and left him an orphan.

Sasuke was left alone and, besides his brother, was the only Uchiha alive. We will later find out that isn’t true, but Sasuke’s childhood was marked with grief and tragedy, which followed him for many years onward.

As an Academy student, Sasuke was on top of his class and was among the best students, but his goal to get as strong as his brother to kill him eventually distanced him from his classmates. His genin team, Team Seven, with Kakashi at the helm, showed him that he could have friends and someone to rely on, but even Naruto and Sakura couldn’t steer Sasuke from his ultimate goal.

During Chūnin Exams, which made him realize he wasn’t progressing his shinobi skill as he wanted, Sasuke was shocked to see Orochimaru infiltrating Konoha and killing The Third Hokage. The former member of the legendary Sannin trio offered Sasuke his skills and mentorship to help him kill his brother Itachi, which Sasuke strongly thought of. However, Sasuke’s initial thought became a decision when Itachi arrived and almost killed him in the hospital – Sasuke will leave Konoha and learn from Orochimaru.

Sasuke defected his village and left everything behind; Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi made it their mission to bring back their friend home, but that didn’t work out, and it two and a half years passed until the former team finally united.

Sasuke already had bad feelings about Konohagakure since he witnessed villagers constantly gossiping about his clan and family whenever he passed through the Konoha streets. Sasuke never felt at home in his village, and that notion continued until he left everything behind.

Two and a half years passed, and Sasuke became a formidable shinobi and powerful opponent. His determination to kill his brother only got stronger, especially after realizing that Akatsuki started being more active around Shinobi World.

Eventually, after leaving Orochimaru and forming Team Hebi in helping to find his brother, the fated battle between the two Uchihas began and answered many questions.

Why does Sasuke want to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village?

The fated battle between the two Uchiha brothers ends with Itachi removing Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal from Sasuke, dying from a mysterious disease, and telling Sasuke he is sorry. Itachi never outright told anyone about what transpired that tragic night in the Uchiha compound, and when he died saying sorry to his brother, Sasuke was in shock.

Of course, Tobi sees the opportunity to swerve Sasuke into his hands and decides to tell Sasuke everything; however, the truth is that he only knows. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Tobi’s truth isn’t what Itachi wanted to say to his brother, and disguised Obito Uchiha (presenting himself as Madara) decides to tell Sasuke the skewed truth about what happened in Konoha before during the Uchiha massacre.

He tells Sasuke that Konohagakure’s leadership was behind the Uchiha massacre and that Hokage manipulated his brother Itachi at the price of his younger brother’s life. Of course, Tobi continues by telling everything from the Hidden Leaf Village’s foundation to the Uchiha Clan’s discrimination over the decades and the ultimate end of the famous Konoha clan.

Sasuke is shocked and realizes that his brother Itachi loved and protected him through the years, which prompts Sasuke to rename his Team from Hebi to Taka and go on a new mission – to destroy Konohagakure.

Today, we know that Madara and Obito Uchiha manipulated Sasuke to kickstart the Fourth Shinobi World War and awaken the Ten-Tailed Beast.

Sasuke’s determination for revenge rises tenfold during his fight against Danzo Shimura, who accuses Itachi of betrayal and reveals his secret – harvesting Sharingan eyes at the expense of dead Uchiha clan members.

Team Seven arrive after Sasuke kills Danzo and witnesses Sasuke’s insanity and determination to destroy Konoha. He wants to destroy Konoha for wrongdoings towards Itachi and his clan that everyone capitalized on, including Kakashi.

Konohagakure will pay for everything they did to the Uchiha clan, and Sasuke will do anything to destroy it once and for all.